M&B chief Fowle calls time March 16, 2011 MITCHELLS & Butlers (M&B) chief executive Adam Fowle quit yesterday, just weeks after chairman John Lovering left the company. Fowle’s resignation comes amid rumours of tension between Fowle and 23 per cent shareholder Joe Lewis. His departure after just two years was by “mutual consent”, according to M&B’s stock market statement. The company has been [...]
Finance boss Solomons steps into the breach March 16, 2011 IHG chief finance officer Richard Solomons has been at the heart of the company’s expansion in China and rebranding of its Holiday Inns. He has been a constant travelling companion of outgoing chief executive Andy Cosslett as the pair turned round the company’s fortunes after the recession. The Manchester University student, now 48, qualified as [...]
Turmoil creates buying opportunity March 16, 2011 WHILE the Mitchells & Butlers soap opera plays itself out in the boardroom, the company is doing swimmingly. Maybe the infighting has led to a creative tension that is good for business. Whatever the reason, investors should use the 2.9 per cent fall in M&B’s shares yesterday as a buying opportunity. The group holds some of [...]
Greggs in record profit March 16, 2011 Baker Greggs made a record profit in 2010 as shoppers tucked in to its value-for-money sausage rolls, pasties, cakes and buns in a tough economic climate. The Newcastle-based company, which also sells sandwiches and bread to over six million customers a week from about 1,490 shops, said it was well positioned to make further progress [...]
AMT seals £1m deal to expand March 16, 2011 Coffee bar chain AMT yesterday announced that it has completed a million pound finance-raising deal. The cash will be used to invest in new sites. The company has bars across the UK, including London Bridge and Marylebone stations. AMT was the first coffee company to solely use fairtrade beans. The £1m was secured in an [...]
French Connection in the black March 16, 2011 Fashion group French Connection said it was confident of coping with a tough economic outlook and rising input prices as it beat forecasts with higher full-year profit, and hiked its dividend. The retailer, which has sold off or closed a string of underperforming businesses, made profits from continuing operations of £8.9m in the year to [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 16, 2011 Bank of America Merrill Lynch Bob Elfring will join Bank of America Merrill Lynch as head of investment banking for Benelux and Northern Europe in July, where he will be responsible for the growth of the bank’s investment banking franchise. Elfring joins from Credit Suisse where he was head of investment banking for Northern Europe. [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 16, 2011 G4S Citi rates the security services company “buy / medium risk” with a target price of 270p. The broker expects later cycle recovery in G4S’s markets through the year, with its European business starting to accelerate in 2011. Citi applauds the firm’s focus on smaller firms in its acquisition strategy, given its track record with [...]
CAPITAL RADIO HOSTS PHONE IN THE PROFITS March 16, 2011 CAPITAL Radio presenters Lisa Snowdon and Johnny Vaughan showed they may have missed their real calling when they dropped in to Phoenix Partners Group yesterday to execute a few trades in a “whirlwind” 30-minute visit. The pair’s stint on the trading floor, directly after their breakfast show, was part of the broker’s annual charity day [...]
How business education is adapting to globalisation March 16, 2011 SINCE their very beginnings, business schools have focused on international trade. When the Aula do Comercio was set up in Lisbon in 1759, one of the four subjects taught was the “study of weights and measures from different countries [and] methods for the exchange of currencies.” The Imperial Export Academy in Vienna was created in [...]
